A Common Mule
by Adventure-Seeking-Juliet
Summary: Behind intense hatred, there is always a story.


**A Common Mule**

Written by: Adventure-Seeking-Juliet

Summary: Behind intense hatred, there is always a story.

A/N This was written for the QLFC's first finals round. My prompt was to write a story about a Centaur, and I chose the following optional prompts: Dialogue: "Must you?" 12."The crownless again shall be king." - J.R.R. Tolkien and 10. The Captain, Biffy Clyro. My story is centered on Bane, a Centaur from the Forbidden Forest Colony.

* * *

Bane hadn't always been a part of the Forbidden Forrest Colony. Long ago, before he'd ever laid eyes on the Forbidden Forrest or its inhabitants, he'd lived in a small colony near the coast.

The wooded land he had called home was now long gone. Most of it had been destroyed and turned into lumber. The colony's elders, despite their ability to read the stars, had never seen it coming.

Even now, so many years later, the memory of the destruction of his home and the deaths of his friends and family still haunted him. It was a scar that would never fade.

The humans were like a plague. They'd moved onto his colony's territory as though they'd had a right to it...and when the colony had fought back, the humans began to destroy the forest.

It had been a terrible scene.

Half of the forest was more dead than alive, and the humans had attempted to burn what couldn't be cut down. The smoke had clouded the air. Bane could remember the smell of fear and the thick stench of blood. The humans had attacked the colony with strange weapons, and, in retaliation, the centaurs had attacked with hooves and bows.

Bane had been helpless. He was merely a foal. While his father and uncles fought the human filth, he'd cowered behind his mother. He'd never known such fear.

With wide, innocent eyes, he'd watched as his uncles were cut down one by one. His father had tried to stand strong...it was his duty to protect his mate and his progeny, but, eventually, he fell. It took nearly ten humans to kill him.

Bane and his mother had hidden deep in the woods, but as the battle drew nearer, he had felt his mother become tense.

With a sorrowful expression, she had turned to her son, "My son, I must fight. I want you to run. Do you understand?"

Bane had panicked, "No! I can't just run away. That is the action of a coward."

His mother had nearly smiled at that. With a trembling hand, she brushed a strand of thick, dark hair out of her son's face, "You are only a boy, Bane. I have looked to the stars and they have proven that your fate yet diverges from mine."

"The stars lie!" Bane replied, "They must. I will not leave you to die."

His mother merely shook her head. She was the best star-gazer in the entire colony, and even Bane knew that he couldn't argue with her prophecy.

"The stars have said that I am meant to die a warrior's death this night, but you...my son," She stroked his face, "You will be free. You will live and lead. You will find a new colony. Do not fear."

His mother started to turn away, but before she could leave him, Bane pulled her back, "Mother, I am afraid." He had admitted it bitterly. In his colony, fear was considered weak, even for a foal.

His mother had nodded, "May your fear give you strength, my son. Your path will be long and hard. I must go."

"Must you?" Bane asked, his voice breaking.

There was no answer. His mother had already vanished into the smoky night...so Bane ran.

* * *

They caught him with a net. The material had tripped him, and with a groan, Bane had collapsed at the feet of two humans.

One, a full grown man, had aimed a weapon at him, and with, a sense of relief, Bane had anxiously awaited the killing shot. He wanted nothing more than to be reunited with his family.

But, at the last moment, the other human stepped forward, "Dad, wait! Do we have to kill it?"

Bane tensed at being referred to as an "it." He was a Centaur, not a mindless animal.

The man regarded his son fondly, "Well, it is only a baby..."

The boy's face had lit up, "So I can keep it?!"

"I suppose so, but be careful. We'll have to make sure to tame it before you can break it in." The man had studied Bane with a callous eye, "Then you can ride this beast like a common mule. It should remind him of his place."

* * *

The boy never tamed Bane, but he _did_ break him.

Bane spent years of his life chained to a post. If he fought, he was whipped. If he didn't obey the humans, they starved him into submission.

And the boy rode him like he was an animal. They named him "beast," and whenever he tried to speak, they told him he wasn't allowed words. He was a beast, not a man.

Still, Bane had watched the stars, and, just as his mother had predicted, his moment came one day nearly five years after his kidnapping.

The boy had ridden him to the edge of a dense forest, and because the humans had come to think of Bane as a weak-willed animal, they had let the boy come alone.

That was their biggest mistake.

Bane attacked the cruel boy with ease. With a sick sense of enjoyment, he had slammed his hooves into the boy's head. Over and over again.

Bane didn't stop until the boy's pale face was unrecognizable.

Although his hooves were stained with blood, Bane was finally free.

* * *

The Forbidden Forest Colony had welcomed him with open arms. Bane's mother had been right. He became a leader. Though he didn't lead the colony, many of its members looked to him for guidance.

He was the lone survivor of a massacre. He was the last in a line of proud Centaurs, and his hatred for the humans was his oldest, dearest friend.

With hatred in his heart, he swore to the stars that he'd never be ridden like a common mule again.

* * *

A/N Reviews are welcome (but _please_ be polite.) I don't appreciate flames. I hope everyone enjoyed the story. I'd like to thank the lovely _maggalina_ for the idea that inspired this story.


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